Nightmares and Sleeptalking
by Crackers414
Summary: Sophie's been having the same nightmare every night, but Howl doesn't know. One night Howl gets in earlier than usual. . . . What happens then? One shot, contains movie references. K for mainly paranoia. Please review!


**A/N: So, I've decided to do a one-shot from Howl's Moving Castle! If you haven't seen the movie, WARNING: YOU MAY GET CONFUSED! THIS IDEA CAME FROM A SCENE IN THE MOVIE THAT IS NOT IN THE BOOK! PLUS THERE ARE MOVIE REFERENCES! I don't know when exactly this is set, so use your imagination! ****  
DISCLAIMER: In no way do I own ANYTHING about Howl's Moving Castle, the characters, the book, or the movie. And I'm not making any money off this. Only the plot is mine.**

_**Howl P.O.V. (Ten thirty at night)**_

I opened the door and walked into the castle, kicking the door shut before I walked slowly up the stairs. For once, I hadn't been out sabotaging battleships. I'd been trying to get the Witch of the Waste off my tracks tonight. _Does that Witch ever give up? _I thought, sinking into the chair in front of the hearth. Calcifer blinked sleepily. "Can you get me a log, please, Howl?" He asked. I sighed and put three logs within his reach. "I'm going to bed before I fall over." I told him, heading for the stairs. I was back far earlier than usual, yet trying to shake off the Witch had left me more drained than usual. "I hope Sophie doesn't wake you up. . ." Calcifer muttered, but I didn't pay any attention. I paused at the curtain to Sophie's little alcove, sure that I heard her whisper something. After a moment, I mentally shrugged and continued up the stairs. 

_**Howl P.O.V. (Eleven thirty at night)**_

Someone started screaming. I shot out of bed and checked on Markl. No, not him, he was dead to the world. I knew it wasn't Calcifer, and that left Sophie. I ran down the stairs and flung open the curtain. Sophie was screaming into her pillow, still asleep, but the main thing I noticed was that she wasn't old anymore. I walked carefully over to her. "Sophie? Sophie, it's just a dream." I told her quietly, resting my hand on her shoulder. The screaming stopped, replaced by a murmured "Howl." I blinked. _Why on Earth is she . . . ? _I wondered, before deciding to ponder on it later. "I'm here, Sophie, it's alright, I'm here." I told her quietly. Sophie turned, still asleep, and grabbed my hand. "Ah, Sophie, can you let go of me? Please? Sophie!" I said. She didn't let go. I tried slipping my hand out of hers; she only tightened her grip with a whimper: "Don't go." I had no idea what to do. Obviously, Sophie wasn't going to let go without causing a fuss. _Well, only one thing to do that's even semi-practical. _I thought. Then I started to roll Sophie over carefully, until her hand that was _still_holding mine was about to hang off the bed. My plan was to wait until she let go, but since I was too tired to stand up all that time this way if I fell asleep, I wouldn't fall over and wake everyone else up. And just as I started to doze, Sophie turned and fell on me. I sighed. _This is going to be a long night._

_**Sophie P.O.V. (Three in the morning)**_

I woke up and instantly thought, _Something stopped the nightmare. What did it, and why? _Every night since the Witch of the Waste turned me into an old woman, I'd had nightmares about it. Then I realized my bed seemed to be breathing, there was something warm around my waist, and I was on my stomach. I carefully opened one eye and almost screamed. My face was in somebody's neck. Then that somebody spoke in a voice that I recognized. "Sophie, I know you're awake. Would you mind getting off me now?" Howl moved his arms, and I obligingly moved. My face felt like it was on fire. He sat up and started rubbing his neck. "Sophie, before you ask, you were screaming earlier, so I came down to see what was wrong. Well, while I was trying to help you, you grabbed my hand and wouldn't let go. By that time, you had stopped screaming. So I decided I'd wait on the floor until you let go of me. And then you fell on me." He explained, yawning. I thought for a moment. _It makes sense, I suppose. But why would I grab Howl's hand and not let go? _I wondered. "Thank you, Howl." I said."It's fine. What frightened you so badly, anyways?" I sighed, unsure if I could tell Howl or not, but I decided to try. "I keep having nightmares about when the Witch of the Waste put a curse on me. . ." I hesitantly said. Howl smiled sympathetically – I guess he knew. "Sometimes curses do that, frightening someone so badly that they dream about it or can't stop thinking about it. It usually fades over time." He explained with a yawn. "It'll stop? Oh, thank you, Howl!" I exclaimed. "You're welcome, Sophie. Next time, though, can you please not fall on me? I haven't gotten any sleep. . . . At all. . . In a long time. . ." Howl requested, his eyes closing as Howl fell over asleep, his head landing in my lap.

Around seven thirty that morning, Markl woke up and walked downstairs, noticing Howl's open bedroom door. He gave Calcifer a log and asked, "Where are Sophie and Howl?" Calcifer quietly giggled. "Look in the alcove, kid." He said. "Thanks, Calcifer!" Markl told him, walking over to Sophie's bedroom and peeping in. Howl and Sophie were on the floor, both asleep. Howl was on his side, his head on Sophie's stomach, while Sophie was on her back, her hands resting on the wizard's head, rather protectively. Markl smiled and retreated over near Calcifer. "Calcifer, do you think they'll live happily ever after?" The little boy asked. "I think so, kiddo. I think so.: the fire demon told him happily.

**A/N: Wow, that did NOT turn out like expected. Oh well, I like it. What do y'all think? My goal was for it to funny, but sweet and fluffy. I was thinking of moving the setting to after the end of the movie/book, but I decided not to. So, Howl knows about Sophie's curse, and I went with the movie bit with how the curse weakens when, say, Sophie's sleeping. Sorry if I made Howl and Sophie OOC and if there were any spelling/grammar mistakes, see you next time I do a Howl's Moving Castle one shot! Please review!**


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